Tongala’s A-graders could finish in second place if the stars align in the last round.
Tongala sat out the penultimate Murray League round with the bye, and both top grade sides will be looking to get back into the swing of things in the last round ahead of finals.
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The club is on the road to Finley this week, and there is potential for the Blues’ teams to improve their table position with a win over the Cats in both sports.
In netball, the Blues’ A-graders can finish no lower than their current position of third, but the valuable double chance that comes with a top-two finish still remains in reach if circumstances line up.
Tonny needs to defeat Finley, a bottom two side, by a healthy margin, but also requires a favour from the 5-11 Echuca United, which would need to defeat Mulwala to allow the Blues to draw level with the Lions on points.
The two results combined also need to close the just over four percentage point gap between the clubs.
Should everything fall into place, the then second placed Blues would earn a week off before taking on minor premier Nathalia in a grand final qualifier.
Otherwise, Tongala will need to take the long road through the bottom four bracket to earn a preliminary final place.
In this case, the Blues will play Numurkah in its first final, with the other Blues locked into sixth spot.
Tongala has emerged from the third-to-sixth bracket to make the preliminary final in each of the past two seasons.
A win for Tongala’s seniors this week will guarantee fifth place.
In football, the Blues are poised to finish in either fifth or sixth place.
With Numurkah on the bye, a win (or draw) by Tonny’s seniors will guarantee fifth spot, while a defeat to the Cats will see the Blues finish sixth.
In either case, the identity of Tongala’s first round opponent can’t be determined yet, with places second to fourth up in the air.
Cobram, Mulwala and Nathalia are all level on points, currently arranged in that order by percentage.
If Tongala advances into fifth, it will play the lowest ranked of those sides in the wake of this weekend, while a loss to Finley will see the Blues play whichever club finishes in third.
Nathalia and Cobram are battling each other, while Mulwala is at home to Echuca United.
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